.xxx addresses are almost a reality

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) has finally voted to move ahead with a contract with ICM Registry that would create domains with a .xxx address, to be used by pornographic sites.

While closer to being a reality than before, there are still concerns from some government officials about the suffix that will be dedicated solely to adult sites.

ICM's CEO Stuart Lawley says the new suffix will fully benefit adult content sites by making it easier for would-be customers to find them.

.xxx domains, however, will be voluntary and it is unclear how many popular adult sites will actually give up their .com addresses and move.

ICM says there are already 189,000 "pre-registrations" for .xxx sites, with another 300,000 expected to launch next year.